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@Dark-Link73Publishers and developers like to see preorder numbers to gauge the game's success. I just don't see that being that useful, considering it's not inventory based. And it's not like the servers will be overloaded.

@unrandomsamAs you said, I don't see Nintendo making lower prices for eshop or preorders.

I would love to pre-order download games, as long at the download automatically starts the moment the game becomes available (usually midnight) for retail releases. Download while I sleep, play game when I wake up, not wasting waking hours downloading new games.

It would work as when you pre order, you get the download code straight away. Enter the code on the eshop. Then once released it automatically downloads. Now that service i would use. This service doesn't make sense to me, and just wastes time.

I think this makes sense, at least slightly. Pre-ordering a digital game can make it easier to remember a game is coming out. Also, it's really easy to accidentally use all of your eShop-credit. Pre-ordering a game, instead, doesn't cost you any eShop-credit after you have once paid. It would also be cool, if pre-ordered games downloaded to my 3DS automatically through SpotPass! That would be convenient!

I don't get it either, usually pre-orders on other services come with an encrypted version of the game so you can download it. Then at midnight on launch day they release the decryption key so all you have on launch day is a tiny download and the decryption time. Without that I don't see any point.

@Jazzer94 There is the odd situation it would be useful. (I have one card which basically always gets blocked if a none Mastercard Secure transaction is done). Because of that I barely use it but if it was the only card I had then I would have to use something like this.

This seems like a baby step that isn't nearly big enough. Why not let you buy the title, link that purchase with your eshop account, and then, when it's released, be able to just go into the eshop and download it without a code?

I have a feeling if anyone buys this that you will get a code after the eShop update (Nintendo probably don't send out non-review codes before eShop updates after the Pikmin 3 incident with GAME) which means it is no faster than getting the game off the eShop yourself but if you want to give someone a gift and want to pay early for some reason this is the only real way.

@unrandomsam I'm sorry but with all due respect, in what alternate reality do you live because, in over 20 years of buying pre-order games, I've never paid less for a retail pre-ordered game (regardless of the Publisher) compared to a game after release date. They're the same price.

@King47 I know how pre-orders work. Also don't forget about the psychological effect of paying for a game in installments vs. the full price in one payment. But as we pointed out, there's no real benefit for the consumer to pre-order digital games since there isn't a physical inventory.

The only true benefit I see in this is for Nintendo. By allowing pre-orders of digital games and giving out the DL code, Nintendo is hooking up gamers into buying the game in advance (most avid gamers will pre-order a game in excitement and intoxication). Since the pre-order is digital, there won't be chance for the consumer to get "cold feet" and cancel the pre-order. The sale is locked.

@Dark-Link73 In the USA ? Price fixing is still allowed there. (They cannot do it in the EU and they got a very large fine because of it).

Take Kirby 3DS - Pre Order from Amazon UK at £28 (On release I suspect it will be £32 probably get it for £25 with a bit more messing about that I never bother with.). Yoshi 3DS could be preordered at £25.

Steam is quite often 25% or 33% off for a pre order. (Or sometimes as low as 10% but with a lower RRP).

Only time I have ever paid the RRP in recent times is via the eshop. (And a few Steam games I wanted straight away).

Amazon US has them as well by the looks of it - Kirby at the rough equivalent of £20 + whatever tax.

The standard download price from Nintendo for a 3DS game is £40 which is about $67.

I don't see why you would pre-order any game, let alone an eShop one. Just wait for reviews and more footage upon release.

The only reason to ever pre-order is if you know for sure that you'll be buying the game no matter what, and you get an advantage, like an early release date, a significant discount, one of a limited stock (ie. physical release only), or some kind of decent bonus. This system has none of those offers, so why anyone would use it is beyond me.

Digital pre-order is only attractive if:
A) The game automatically downloaded to your system or added to your account (which Nintendo so doesn't have an active system for).
B) The price is cheaper.
C) The game comes with free additional digital goodies such as DLC, art, and/or soundtracks.

Steam has a great system for this already. It'll likely take Nintendo at least 20 years to catch up.

@Geonjaha when it involves physical games they sell out. Popular games can remain unstocked for weeks, and then there's the problem of smaller limited print games. A pre-order guarantees a copy. For digital games it's pointless.

Easy enougn. IWork when the PS+ drop usually hits on Tuesdays. So I preorder child of light Now and since my PlayStation is usually on standby mode once the game drops it downloads for me to enjoy once I'm home.

@unrandomsam You do live in an alternate reality, lol (j/k). Here in the US, pre-orders cost as much as the release price. So you pay $60USD whether you buy the game on Gamestop.com or at the store. The only difference is that if you pre-order in the store, you can pay in installments vs. online where you have to pay in full at checkout.

Amazon is the only place where I've seen a bit of a discount on pre-orders vs. buying after release, but the discounts are usually from only a few cents to a couple of dollars max. Nothing significant. I've never shopped at Steam so I don't have any idea of their prices.

As for the prices of games in the UK, I know they're more expensive than in the US, but if think that's bad, you should see prices in Mexico. The Wii U in Mexico costs about $462USD and the PS4 is about $616USD. The games for U are about $81USD and for PS4 $76USD (odd isn't it?). The 3DS are chapter than in the UK (about $59USD) and the XL is about $316USD. What makes those prices even crazier is that, the average weekly salary in Mexico is what an average person makes in a day in the US.

In Mexico those items are luxury items so their open to free market pricing without any government intervention.

whats the point if it dosent pre deliver or delivers automatic.Time you have taken toget email put code into eshop its quicker just to buy it on e shop.Seriously what muppets come up with these ideas. Nintendo meeting lets let our customres pre order. Yeahhhh and it will take them longer to DL it than buying from e shop. WTF Seriously the person incharge of the online strategy needs sacked.

This might make sense in that you get the code and give it to someone as a present, but even then, the 'pre' in this 'order' is useless.Except for when you can actually download it a bit sooner, which I highly doubt...

I can see this very helpful especially to me. Rather than paying the full price of a game on release day, I can slowly pay off the full price a little bit at a time. Since I'm a college student it gets expensive and this is the perfect way for me to buy games. It's just my opinion though.

What's disturbing is the words "free shipping" next to the "pre-order" game! What, they gonna start charging shipping for downloads? Is the price in the image cheaper than the regular digital download?

@Dark-Link73 Urandomsam is correct, if you preorder games online here in the UK then you often get them cheaper than the release day price, and sometimes (depending on popularity) I've known games to actually increase in price....for instance, I got Luigi's Mansion 2 for around £28 preordered from shopto.net.....at release it was about £30....a week or so later when it was topping the charts, they'd put the price up to £32.

It does seem like a stupid idea. Why pre-order something that isn't going to run out of stock. However, the price for nintendo football is £10.49 when pre-ordered and it shows £13.49 on the eshop. So your saving £3 and the small developers get a return for their game a bit quicker. So everyone is happy. Without the price drop though, it would be pointless.

Is this punishment for NA for previous generations of getting everything after JP and before EU? Now EU is getting all the good stuff first, and most of the time NA is completely shunned out by cool stuff. (cough cough Mario Kart 8 Collectors Shell cough cough.)

For this title it actually makes a bit of sense because of the game's promotional price for the the first couple of weeks after release. It means that someone can actually snare themselves a deal right now, instead of forgetting about the release and having to pay full price sometime later.

Some people pre-order because they have the money at the time. For instance, I have the money right now, so will pre-order it. If I don't, I'll likely spend the money before it's released. Therefore, Nintendo make a sale without the game being out yet.

Article Title made me uber happy ... then the actual Article got my hopes up. this makes absolutely no sense to me lol. Why would I want to get a download code when it's just easier to click download on the game from the eShop .... and they never run out of stock lol.

I was so excited, hoping this would actually download the game for me once it was available ... which now we know isn't the case.

@Dark-Link73 now if they can set this up to automatically download the day it releases I could see the benefit. I could buy something online when I'm at work and have it downloaded and installed by the time I get home, I would be all over that kind of service.

Interesting... I was not aware that buying games in the UK are cheaper if preordered. In North America, preorder discounts are non-existent or minimal (as Dark-Link73 mentioned). For instance, I see that by looking at my Amazon history, I saved $0.04 by preordering Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy.

I rarely bother to preorder games unless I feel that it's a game that'll quickly become hard-to-find, such as Atlus titles.

The only way that preordering eshop games will be viable is if they either A. download instantly or B. get assigned to your account so they can download whenever you want. That requires Nintendo to do user accounts similar to PS+, or Steam. Since they don't have that yet, I don't see the point.

If I want to download a game day one, I usually add the needed funds to my account beforehand. There should be some sort of incentive to pre-order a game online. For example, say Nintendo opens pre-orders for Kirby: Triple Deluxe, and if you pre-order the digital copy, you get a download code for 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure once you've accepted the code for Triple Deluxe. Little digital bonuses like that.

I really can't believe all the people saying they don't understand this. PSN has done this for ages and it's one of the most popular and convenient features of the store.

I preordered GTA V on the store, and when I got home from work it was there fully downloaded! If I couldn't preorder it, I would have had to purchase it when I got home and then wouldn't have been able to play it until the next day at earliest.

From Nintendo's point of view, if someone thinks "oh that game looks good, I might buy it" then checks the eShop and realises it isn't out yet, they then have to wait. A high percentage of these times, people would just forget and never end up getting it. In this case you can preorder it anyway and it will automatically download, so it should increase sales for them quite a bit.

It makes perfect sense and is a basic feature that should have been there from the start, all digital marketplaces need it.

@PorllM I see where you're coming from... Seems more like a "impulse buy" kinda situation. You also, stated that you pre-ordered GTA V... That was a very popular title, not many folk that I know of that didn't buy that game my assumption is that your network speed is not up to snuff, as I can usually buy large games and have them downloaded within the hour... But regardless, if the intro price does drop, then I can see myself enjoying this service. on the other hand, NFS hardly dropped in price on the eShop, resorted to buying two copies for 10$ less (yes, both copies cost less than a single download) on amazon...